10 Most Frontloaded Albums In Rock History
4. Kanye West - Late Registration
Kanye West is a man who’s keen on long albums, and - unsurprisingly - he had the confidence to do so from the off. His first release, The College Dropout, is a spottier collection of tracks, but dots the good stuff throughout its 76 minute runtime.
Follow up Late Registration, while the better record on the whole (and arguably West’s masterpiece to date), is beset with pacing issues that leave it severely imbalanced. The singles plucked from this record were perfect, and he stacks them all up top, throwing away “Heard ‘em Say”, “Touch The Sky”, and the ubiquitous “Gold Digger” in rapid succession.
These tracks show young Kanye at his best, joyfully cutting up soul samples and showing off his sense of humour. As the album wears on, though, we’re given the less interesting “Roses”, the sweet but saccharine “Hey Mama”, and the forgettable “Bring Me Down” and “Addiction”.
The ambition is laudable, but the pace drops badly in this stretch, though he brings it back with the incredible “Gone”, which would be an all time great album closer if he didn’t then whack on a further two bonus tracks.